TUOL SLENG GENOCIDE MUSEUM, the former security office 21 in “Democratic Kampuchea” was created on orders of Pol Pot (Sa lut Sor). , in April 17, 1975. Office 21 was called S-21 and designed for detention, interrogation, inhuman torture, and killing after confession from the detainees were received and documented. Previously the area hosted Tuol Sleng Primary school and Tuol Svay Prey high school. Many rooms were converted into a set of rooms 6×4 meters each. Most prisoners were here 2-4 months, though political prisoners were held between 6-7 months. This info was from brochure at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.

LOOKING FOR SARUS CRANE SOUTH OF THE ANG TRAPAENG THMOR RESERVOIR in Cambodia. The guide said I should wear a long-sleeved shirt. I went to buy the night before going out and I like this white shirt so I bought it, with some hesitation. He was kind of shocked because it would make it difficult to sneak up on Eld deer or Sarus Crane in a white shirt! I had a long-sleeved shirt with me to wear for arrival in Bangladesh but thought it too thick for Cambodia. I also noticed in the morning it was very similar to the guide’s shirt! I put on the driver’s police jacket to help cover the bright white shirt. So it goes.

Asian Openbill Stork is a broad-winged soaring bird, which relies on moving between thermals of hot air for sustained flight. Like all storks, it flies with its neck outstretched. It is relatively small for a stork at 68 cm length. They breed near inland wetlands and build stick nest in trees, typically laying 2-6 eggs.

Breeding adults are all white except for the black wing flight feathers, red legs and dull yellow-grey bill. The mandibles do not meet except at the tip, and this gives rise to the species’ name. Non-breeding adults have the white of the plumage replaced by off-white. Young birds have brown tinge to the plumage.

The Asian Openbill Stork, like most of its relatives, walks slowly and steadily on the ground, feeding on molluscs, frogs and large insects. from Wikipedia

OPEN-BILLED STORK AT THE PREK TOAL BIRD RESERVE AT THE NORTH END OF TONLE SAP, THE LARGEST NATURAL LAKE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA.

COMING HOME TO A “HONEY DEW” LIST! I knew Alice, my wife said she had a list for me when I arrived after being gone three weeks. I thought it was going to be a long To Do list. She surprised me with this list, which I thought was a very special homecoming gift.

What I missed!

Marland

Your Love

Your Smile

All your Bengali Relationships

Your Shopping

Running Errands

Helping Me

Walking With Me

Encouraging Me

Just Being

Zest for New Experiences!!!

A big thanks to my wife for this special list!!

The Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) is a large non-migratorycrane found in parts of the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia. The tallest of the flying birds, standing at a height of up to 1.8 m (5.9 ft),[3] they are conspicuous and iconic[4] species of open wetlands. The Sarus Crane is easily distinguished from other cranes in the region by the overall grey colour and the contrasting red head and upper neck. They forage on marshes and shallowwetlands for roots, tubers, insects, crustaceans and small vertebrate prey. Like other cranes, they form long-lasting pair-bonds and maintain territories within which they perform territorial and courtship displays that include loud trumpeting, leaps and dance-like movements. In India they are considered symbols of marital fidelity, believed to mate for life and pine the loss of their mates even to the point of starving to death. The main breeding season is during the rainy season, when the pair builds an enormous nest “island”, a circular platform of reeds and grasses nearly two metres in diameter and high enough to stay above the shallow water surrounding it. Sarus Crane numbers have declined greatly in the last century and it has been estimated that the current population is a tenth or less (perhaps 2.5%) of the numbers that existed in the 1850s. The stronghold of the species is India, where it is traditionally revered and lives in agricultural lands in close proximity to humans. Elsewhere, the species has been extirpated in many parts of its former range. From Wikipedia

I was able to get this photo in Northwestern Cambodia last week. I took it with a Canon XTI (400D) camera, CAnon 70-300 mm lens with a Tamron 2x converter. This is as close as I could get. They seemed to be maybe 400 yards away. I suspect the photo would have been sharper had I used a tripod, and a Canon 2x converter.